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Domaine Michel Gros is one of the better names in Vosne. And since there is a famous adage for Burgundy saying “The name of the producer is as important as the name of the vineyard”, this is a crucial piece of information. But what is it based on? Just subjective studying of websites and forums, I have to admit. The domaine owns a few interesting vineyards in the Côte de Nuits such as the Premier Cru Clos des Réas as a monopoly but even if this name sounds quite euphonious as well, it isn’t reputedly as complex as other Crus of Vosne (Check here for more info). Their non-monopoly parcel in the Premier Cru vineyard “Aux Brûlées” which lies just next to the famous Richebourg might be of Higher Quality. Of the Grand Cru vineyards, as many vignerons, Domaine Michel Gros owns a piece in the huge Clos Vougeot.

But anyway, I should stop here since none of these vineyards are of topic today. In fact, I only wanted to demonstrate how I attempted to rely on the name of the producer and the quality of the vintage to pick a simple Village wine, hoping to unearth some gems. For asserting the vintage quality I simply relied on Parker’s vintage chart, which rated 1999 with 92 points for the Côte de Nuits. Which means, according to him, the best vintage after 1990 and before 2005.

Based on these prerequisites I ordered a few 1999 Burgs which were offered at an acceptable price (at around 20 Euro). But what is probably the most important with these wines is that, with 11 years of age they should be very ready and nice to drink right now. Yes! Drinking Pleasure will always be reason number 1!

I opened this bottle for a cozy movie evening on the couch, thinking that aged Burgundy would be just the right wine for this kind of atmosphere. Also: nothing better than a warm-hearted Pinot when it’s cold outside!

I popped and poured the bottle without decanting. The colour is of the most elegant with a very beautiful and shiny ruby red. It has a nice transparency and only the slightest orange-brownish hue on the side is a whitness of its age.

The nose is intense of berries with slight barnyard funk at first but also some vanilla. I welcome that the use of oak is very reasonable in this wine: it lets the fruit express itself in great purity with perfumes of red berries and strawberry in particular.

On the palate the wine appears of medium weight but nonetheless powerful with some spicy Vosne fire. The slightly bitter finish it shows at first quickly disappears after a few whirls in the glass. Strawberry fruit also shines with great purity. The acidity doesn’t have the biggest elegance but lends the wine a good juiciness which also translates through a fresh note in the finish.

What a satisfaction this bottle was. You get much more Burgundy than you would hope for with this price: there is some nice balance, a touch of Terroir and this incredibly comforting feel a Burgundy can have. A true mood-raising wine.

Also, after the Fixin 1er Cru I recently had (post in German), the 1999 vintage in Burgundy once again proved nice to drink right now. I can only encourage you to test it out yourself and order some 1999 right away.